Vol. 27 // This bird can sleep while flying! 😴

Found along the ocean in the southern United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean

Hear Their Song

Ah the Magnificent Frigatebird, the captain of the ocean sky! These birds have the largest wing area to body weight ratio of any bird. They can fly higher than 4,000 meters in freezing conditions, and they spend most of their lives in the air (they lack waterproof feathers). They can remain "on the wing" for up to 12 days at a time, effortlessly soaring on ocean currents.

Males are recognizable by their bright red throat pouches; females have white chests but are bigger than the males. They’re known as the “man-o-war bird” because they act like pirates in the sky and harass other birds until they drop their food, and the frigatebird swoops in to steal it. Why hunt when you can have other birds do it for you?

Fun fact: Magnificent Frigatebirds can sleep while flying.

Give a Hoot

Birding bits you should know about this week

🥪 Laugh
Sneaky sandwich thief
It’s not quite Jaws, but it’s still scary. Would you offer yourself up as bait?

💤 Learn
Scientists finally have evidence that Frigatebirds sleep while flying
They can circle the globe in just 46 days!

🥾 Live through fellow birders
Birding the Appalachian trail
“Birdman” shares what it’s like to listen to the winged creatures on his thru-hike.

Flying Colors brings all the birds to the yard! Our premium organic wild bird food is now available in a beautiful three-gallon carton. The best part? It’s now available on Amazon.com and eligible for 2-day Prime Shipping! Plus, you can order now at a special introductory price!

Choose from three custom blends — all made with 100% USDA certified organic ingredients and hand-mixed with love in New York's Hudson Valley.

Your Shot

An amazing bird photo taken by one of our community members. Submit yours to hello@flyingcolors.co to be considered for an upcoming edition!

A route of evanescence

With a revolving wheel;

A resonance of emerald,

A rush of cochineal;

And every blossom on the bush

Adjusts its tumbled head, —

The mail from Tunis, probably,

An easy morning's ride.

— “The Humming-Bird” by Emily Dickinson

Thank you for being part of our flock! Be sure to follow us on Instagram, and if a friend forwarded you this email, you can subscribe here & view our archive.

Questions? Ideas? Epic bird photos? Reach out at hello@flyingcolors.co

About Us

Flying Colors makes premium organic wild bird food, offering ethically sourced, toxin-free seeds and nuts of the highest quality to nourish wild birds of all types and inspire birders of all ages. Each specialty blend and single origin creation is rigorously sourced & researched, and every jar is produced with love & packaged by hand in small batches in New York's Hudson Valley and tested in our own backyards.